The Waikiki Roughwater Swim began in 1970 by Jim Cotton, the same year he became the first person to cross the Maui Channel in Hawaii. The 3.8 km Waikiki Roughwater Swim course – now in its 54th year – is a point-to-point swim starting at Kaimana Beach and finishing at Duke Kahanamoku Beach at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Cotton also co-founded the Waikiki Swim Club and Maui Channel Swim.
But during those early years of organizing, administering, timing, and laying out courses, little did Cotton realize that his 2.4-mile course across Waikīkī Bay would soon be known worldwide – as the swim leg of the Ironman Triathlon.
The Collins Family
His path crossed with Judy MacGregor Collins who was the first women to successfully cross the Maui Channel on Mother’s Day in May 1977 in a tandem swim with Bob Justman and Bob Luce [shown below on right]. Her timer and chief shark-spotter at the time was her husband, U.S. Navy Commander John Collins [shown below with family on left]. While Cotton’s reach was significant locally, Collins and her husband, both inductees in the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame as Contributors, were instrumental in introducing open water swimming to millions of people around the world through the sport of triathlon.
With that 2.4-mile course in mind, both Judy and John were about to forever change the sport of open water swimming.
During an awards banquet for the Waikiki Swim Club, John and Judy issued a challenge to the swimmers, cyclists and runners on Oahu: Who is the toughest one of all?
The husband-and-wife team combined the three longest swimming, cycling and running races on Oahu into one race: known as the Ironman Triathlon. In February 1978, 15 competitors, including John, came to the shores of Waikiki to consecutively attempt the 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the 112-mile Around Oahu Bike Race, and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon.
“We had high waves and lots of rain which made cycling very difficult, especially since cycling was a new discipline for many runners and swimmers,” recalls Judy. “It really wasn’t the best time of the year but we did it anyway. Eighteen people showed up, but since it was looking pretty unpleasant out there on the water only fifteen started, three dropped out for one reason or another and twelve racers eventually finished the race.”
Judy served as support crew for John in the first race and later served as the co-race director of the 1978 and 1979 Ironman Triathlons that were held on Oahu.
As they handled the logistics and operations of those first two Ironman events, they set the groundwork and established the vision of what the sport would become. Triathlon would later literally draw millions of people to the oceans, lakes, and rivers around the world. Looking back in history, the pair has enabled the sport of open water swimming to grow like few imagined possible in the 20th century. Wetsuit or bioprene, marathon swimmer or multi-sport athlete, warm or cold, rough or calm, Judy and John helped pave the way for millions to challenge themselves beyond the shore.
At their induction ceremony of the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame, Jon Gray Noll, chairman of the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame Committee, described the husband-and-wife team [see below]. “We are deeply honored to announce the 2013 inductees into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame. These individuals truly embrace every aspect of the genesis of our sport – founder, elite competitor, pioneer, age-group athlete and innovator. [Their] contribution and commitment has formed the bedrock upon which today’s triathlon competition thrives. To enshrine them in the Hall of Fame serves to confirm this legacy.”
54th Annual Waikiki Roughwater Swim
The 54the edition will be held on Monday, September 1st on Labor Day, expecting to attract more than 800 swimmers locally and internationally. As in original, swimmers line up in waves at Kaimana Beach in front of the iconic Diamond Head volcano and make their way across Waikikiʻs coastline until they exit the water – some sprinting, some jogging, some walking, and many smiling and waving to the crowds – at Duke Kahanamoku Beach in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Hotel.
Online registration is open through August 30th. Prices for the event are $90 through August 8th and increase to $100 afterwards. Late registration will be held in-person on Sunday, August 31st from noon to 3:00 pm HST at Boca Hawaii located at 330 Cooke Street. Price for late registration is $115. Prizes are awarded for top overall finishers, top age group finishers, as well as for fin swimmers and military divisions.
John and Judy Collins – USA Triathlon Hall of Fame Contributors (Coronado, California)
Creators of the Ironman Triathlon in 1978 in Hawaii, John and Judy Collins served as race directors of the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in 1978-79. The pair are Ironman finishers themselves, John completing the 1978 Ironman and Judy participating in the 2003 Ironman Revisited on the original Oahu course. Both competed in the first-ever triathlon in the U.S. in San Diego in 1974 along with their 12- and 13-year-old children. Taken with the sport, they convinced their masters swim coach to start the longest-running triathlon in the world (Coronado Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in 1975). They were inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame in 1998.
For a brief race introduction on the local KITV Island Television, visit here.
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